


A Touch Of Lace

by leiascully



Category: Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: Class Differences, Clothing, Community: kink_bingo, F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-12-26
Updated: 2012-12-26
Packaged: 2017-11-22 13:28:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,759
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/610326
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/leiascully/pseuds/leiascully
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The clothes make the woman.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Touch Of Lace

**Author's Note:**

> Timeline: Pre-"The Snowmen"  
> A/N: For the "class fantasies" square on my kink bingo card. [Dressing The Victorian Woman](http://www.literary-liaisons.com/article042.htm) was extremely helpful.  
> Disclaimer: _Doctor Who_ and all related characters are the property of Russell T. Davies, Stephen Moffat, and BBC. No profit is made from this work and no infringement is intended.

Jenny heard the wheels of a carriage clattering in the street and ran to open the door for her mistress. "How was the hunt, marm?"

"Thus far unsuccessful," Vastra said, stripping off her gloves. "Fortunately, I should have another chance this evening. There's a ball that it's very likely he'll attend. After all, he'll have no better chance to capture some pretty young daughter of society." She paused and looked Jenny over. "Yes. I think you should come along tonight. I could use a second pair of eyes, and potentially a second pair of hands."

"Are you sure you want me with you, madame?" Jenny asked, suddenly very conscious of the smudges on her skirt and the stray hairs escaping from her bun.

"Of course I do," Vastra said warmly. "You have a few hours to settle your mind about it." She touched Jenny's cheek briefly with the backs of her fingers. "I have every confidence in you, you know."

"I know," Jenny said, ducking her head. "I'll just see about the tea, shall I?"

"Thank you," Vastra said warmly.

Jenny flitted off down the corridor, thinking of fine silk against her skin and the whirl of music in the ballroom.

\+ + + +

The dress was beautiful; the emerald silk gleamed softly in the lamplight. Jenny smoothed it between the rough tips of her fingers. The buttons were jet, as perfect as anything she'd ever seen.

"It'll be a bit difficult to get all of this on," Jenny said doubtfully. "Maybe I should nip around and have the girl from next door help me? I heard she was training as a ladies' maid."

"Don't be ridiculous," Vastra said. "I'll dress you before you dress me. It can't be as difficult as all that."

"Of course," Jenny said, ducking in a half-curtsey. 

"If you're coming with me, you'd best not bob up and down all night," Vastra observed.

"Right," Jenny said. 

Vastra touched her gently under the chin. "Hold your head high, girl. You're the equal of any of them, and more useful than most."

"Thank you," Jenny said, letting a little bit of wryness color her voice. Her mistress was kind and brave, but she wasn't terribly good with pretty words. On the other hand, she was quite good with the swords, which Jenny valued more.

"Excellent," Vastra said. "Shall we begin?" Her hand dropped to Jenny's collarbones, searching for the buttons at the neck of Jenny's dress.

"I can do this bit, marm," Jenny offered, blushing a little. It wasn't as if she hadn't had her bare skin next to Vastra's, but it felt odd, Vastra handling her this way. Usually Jenny took care of undressing the both of them.

"No need for that," Vastra said. "Strip out of that and we'll get you into something nicer."

Jenny skinned out of her underthings, standing in the altogether before Vastra. It was different than when they were sharing a bed. She felt vulnerable and powerful all at once, as if she really were the mistress of this house. Vastra held out a fresh new set of stockings, silky things. 

"I think these will suit you better than the usual," she said. She knelt and held the fabric open for Jenny to put her foot into, one and then the other. The stockings whispered up Jenny's legs, a touch of coolness that warmed quickly to the heat of her skin. Jenny couldn't help blushing a bit as Vastra settled the tops of the stockings above her knees. 

"We'll clip those on in a moment," Vastra said. "Now for the corset."

"Oh, must I?" Jenny said.

"It's part of the accoutrements," Vastra reminded her. "You know that as well as anyone. Don't make that face."

"It looks better on you," Jenny said, but she held her arms up for the shift and the corset. Vastra settled it over her ribs and Jenny tugged and adjusted. Vastra tightened the laces a little at a time, letting Jenny breathe before each new compression. It was kind, but Jenny was breathless all the same The corset seemed to trap the heat of her skin. She felt hot all over, her breath coming in short little gasps as if she were already in her mistress' boudoir, going through the whole process in reverse. Vastra stroked the curve of Jenny's waist.

"It certainly gives you a pretty shape," she said. 

"You're gentler than I thought you'd be," Jenny told her.

"I learned from the best," Vastra said, brushing the tips of her fingers over the nape of Jenny's neck. "You humans are tender creatures."

With the corset holding her up firm, Jenny couldn't help standing tall. She watched as Vastra clipped on the stockings, running her palms over Jenny's thighs. Lord, it was strange to have Vastra kneeling at her feet. Generally it was the other way around, which made sense: Vastra was a lady, a real true lady, and she was just Jenny, hardly anyone at all. But the corset made her stand straight and tall. With the silk against her skin, she could almost believe she was as high-born as her mistress.

Vastra looked up at her. "Shall you be my mistress now?" she asked, her voice warm with humor.

"Oh!" Jenny said, flushed and flustered. "Ma'am, I would never presume..."

"Perhaps after we come home," Vastra suggested. She rose, sliding her hands up Jenny's sides, and reached for the crinoline. She helped Jenny into it and tied it tightly at Jenny's waist. She leaned in to kiss Jenny gently. Jenny kissed her back, hampered by the hoops of the crinoline, and Vastra chuckled.

"Going to be difficult getting you into all of this, ma'am," Jenny said. "I can't move much with everything in the way."

"Funny," Vastra said. "You never have a problem getting me out of it."

"That's different," Jenny told her with a bit of reproach. "Besides, I've had plenty of practice, one way or another."

Vastra chuckled. "I'm sure we'll find a way between us."

It was nice to be able to talk to Vastra like this, as someone in the same situation. Vastra never treated her like someone low, but there was no denying she'd had experiences Jenny would never know. It was good to share this one, and even better to know that there would be more to it later. 

The camisole came next, falling softly over Jenny's head, and then there were petticoats. Vastra tugged at the hem until they lay smooth. Finally she was slipping the dress over Jenny's head. 

"You make a very fine lady," Vastra said as she did up Jenny's buttons. 

"Thank you, marm," Jenny said. "I feel a bit of one now." And she did, too: what a difference a bit of steel and whalebone made. She had to hold herself straight to keep the boning from jabbing her. She felt light and graceful in the heavy skirts. The silk was even softer against her skin than Vastra's touch. She had to breathe in little gasps, which made her bosom heave against the low neckline of the dress. It was like the first stages of a flirtation, her blood running fast and every movement somehow sleek and smooth. Vastra brushed a kiss over the top of her shoulder and Jenny flushed. 

"A very fine lady indeed," Vastra said. Jenny turned to face her and Vastra traced the swoop of the dress' neckline with one finger. "My dear, you ought to dress like this more often. It's very fetching."

"It wouldn't be proper, marm," Jenny told her, shivering a little at Vastra's touch. "Now and again is one thing, but I couldn't play a lady every day."

"But I take such pleasure in dressing you," Vastra said. "It's remarkably soothing, this ritual. And I'm sure I'll enjoy undressing you just as much."

"I'm sure," Jenny said. "But I'm not a lady. It wouldn't be right."

"They say the clothes make the man," Vastra said, tracing the lines of the boning in the corset now as Jenny yearned toward her. "Surely that's true for the female of the species as well."

"I suppose," Jenny said. Her pulse thudded in her ears and her bosom pressed firmly against the confines of the corset. She wanted to breathe faster, to feel more of the pressure. She liked the way the clothes held her and shaped her body. She liked the tease of Vastra's touch through the thick layers, how a caress was reduced to a whispered promise. The dress was a cage, yes, but a cage that she could escape any time she liked, and a cage that meant privilege and respect. Her heart beat more fiercely as she thought of navigating the room at the party, playing her part in bringing an evil man to justice. She would wear her disguise perfectly; surely she was dressed as well as any of the fine people she'd be meeting. Wealthy men and women who usually never gave her a second look would offer her their secrets, if she was clever enough to peel away the shell of half-truths and fancy words around them. She would play her part well, as well as she could, bringing honor to her household. And she was certain getting out of the clothes would be quite the experience. 

"Then a lady you are," Vastra said simply. She bowed her head. "And I am at your service." 

Jenny caught the twinkle in Vastra's eye and held her chin higher. "And how long shall this last?"

"As long as you like," Vastra said. "Certainly for the duration of the evening. I doubt you'll be able to undress yourself, my lady."

"Yes, I'll require your assistance," Jenny said. Vastra smiled and let her tongue flick out over Jenny's shoulder. Jenny could feel it, warm against her back, as it undid the top button of her dress. She arched into it as it slipped away from her dress and tickled the sensitive side of her neck. "Well, not yet. We've got a killer to catch."

"Of course," Vastra said demurely. She moved behind Jenny and did up the button again, letting her body press against Jenny's. Jenny leaned into her.

"For now, we'll have to get you dressed," Jenny said. "I shan't be able to help you once I've got my gloves on."

"Yes, mistress," Vastra said. Jenny breathed deeply, relishing the tight embrace of the corset and the heavy rich swish of fabric as she moved. It was going to be a very long, very rewarding night.


End file.
